For Better, For Worse, Forever
by Svelte Rose
Summary: Life was never fair to anyone. Others may think that someone could have everything but that same person would be thinking the complete opposite. For two people, all they had was each other. Friendship would be their everlasting bond. A friendship fic.


For Better Or For Worst, Forever – Chapter 1

By Svelte Rose

            Life was never fair to anyone. Others may think that someone could have everything but that same person would be thinking the complete opposite. For two people, all they had was each other. Friendship would be their everlasting bond.

            A slender female with a gracefully postured back sat attentively as the teacher walked through a unit in their books. Her mahogany tresses – and not a wisp out of place -- fell around her slender face, down her back, accentuating her emerald green eyes. A small smile played upon her lips as a pen twirled around her index finger, stopping only every minute to inscribe something down in her notebook.

            "Now class, many of you did quite well on the test and many of you didn't. For those of you who didn't, please see me so that we can discuss it," The teacher announced as she handed back tests taken the day before. "Good job Koji-san," The teacher smiled as she handed the mahogany haired girl her test.

            "Thank you," She replied, softly and shyly.

            "Another perfect score, Mia?" Her desk partner teased, arching her blue eyebrow.

            Mia smiled and inched over so that she was able to see the blue-haired girl's test. "What did you get?" She asked as her friend angled the paper better so that she'd be able to read it.

            "Pretty bad score, I'm going to have to see her after class," Kayura grumbled as she pulled on the turtleneck of her cheerleading uniform. As the captain of their cheerleading team, it was necessary that she, along with all the other girls on the team, dressed up in their uniforms on game days. _This collar is killing me…_

            "That stinks,"

            "No kidding,"

            "Who are you guys cheering for tonight?" Mia asked, shifting her books around her desk.

            "Han's High Boy's Academy," Came the monotone answer.

            Mia blinked. Han's High Boy's Academy was a huge rival of Elliot Girl's Academy. Between the two high schools, there raged a battle of the sexes. So it was a bit surprising to hear that Elliot would be cheering for Han's High. Since Elliot had no football team, the cheerleading team would join other high school teams or cheer for a neighboring all-boy's school. However, the hostility between Elliot and Han's High was well-known by many for miles around, therefore their cheerleading team never had to worry about cheering for Han's High – until now.

            "That's how we all felt." Noting Mia's silence, Kayura went on ahead, "I didn't know what to say except gape like a fish out of water," She sighed, "I think it's a mistake. The headmistress, Miss Kamamiya is trying to rectify matters and even if I think it's a mistake, I know we're probably stuck with Han's High for this season,"

            Again, Mia blinked, "There's such enmity between Elliot and Han's High, how do they expect you guys to cheer for their boys team?"

            "The hell I know," Kayura cussed softly, so as not to be heard by the teacher.

~*~*~*~

            Mia leaned against the lockers, books against her chest as she waited for Kayura to finish the conference with their teacher. She hadn't gone unnoticed by many of the people in school. Because of her high academic grades and her accomplishments in the school, many people were in awe of her, jealous of her, or just plain old fearful of her. Kayura, wasn't accomplished academically but she made up for that in sports. During the fall, it'd be tennis, during the winter, it'd be cheerleading, and during the spring, it'd be track with gymnastics on the side. Both had been nominated twice for student role model and both refused it albeit graciously. It was their belief that the competition for such a thing would ruin their unbreakable bond and neither wanted that. The two girls wanted nothing that would jeopardize their friendship in anyway.

            "Whew, glad that's over," Kayura murmured as closed the room door behind her, and started walking down the hall.

            "How'd it go?" Mia asked as she dropped her books into her bag and fell into step by Kayura.

            Kayura shook her head. "She says that if I keep this up, I'm toast for the rest of the sports season," Arriving at the entrance to the school, Kayura held the door open signaling for Mia to pass.

            "I could help you," Mia offered as she stepped through and stopped to wait.

            "Don't worry girl, I'll get through it like I always do," Kayura grinned.

            Mia nodded. "Okay,"

            "So are you coming to the game?" A pair of brown eyes looked hopefully into emerald ones.

            Mia bit her lip. "I'll try,"

            Kayura held back an inward sigh. "Try hard 'kay? I really want you there to support me,"

            "Hai," Mia smiled. "I'll try to be there as hard as I can,"

            Kayura smiled happily. "That's about as close to a yes as I can get right?"

            "Yup,"

            "Good enough," Chirped Kayura as she skipped over to her car. "Ja, hope to see you tonight,"

            Mia winked and grinned. 

~*~*~*~

            "Kayura, who are you looking for?" A girl with fluffy blond hair asked as she snapped her gum and pulled on her pleated cheerleading skirt.

            Kayura's eyes lingered on the crowd before she turned to the owner of the voice. "I'm looking for Mia, Melissa. She said she'd tried to be here,"

            Melissa frowned. "You two are always together,"

            "You make it sound like it's so horrible," Kayura narrowed her eyebrows at Melissa.

            "You've been neglecting the squad. Every time Mia was sick or there was trouble, you'd drop our squad just so you could go check up on her," Melissa sighed. "I mean that's not exactly what a captain is suppose to do,"

            Before Kayura could snap a retort, a figure up in the bleachers caught her eye. "Mia!"

            Mia snapped her head, grinned and waved as she tried to weave her way down towards the front.

            "Hey!" Kayura said excitedly as she ran over to the bleachers. 

            "Hey, have I missed anything?" Mia asked breathlessly.

            "Not at all, we're just warming up," Kayura said. She held out her arms and pulled Mia into a hug. "I'm so glad you came!"

            Mia laughed. "Me too," The whistle blew as both girls pulled apart. "Now go and show them how it's done!"

            "You know me," Kayura grinned before waving her pompoms eagerly.

            "You better be waving those pompoms like there's no tomorrow!" Came a deep mocking voice from behind the team.

            All heads turned towards the Han's High football team. Given her advantage in height over Kayura, all Mia had to do was raise her eyes and she would see the testerone-driven football team of Han's High. However, since the whole cheerleading team had gathered between her and Kayura, the advantage in height was of no use since there were girls who were taller or the same height as Mia.

            "Kento Rei Faun," Kayura muttered to herself, angrily. The Chinese junior was one of the youngest players on their team. Though slow, his strength earned him the position of first-string quarterback, which was quite rare for a junior.

            "Kayura Shinto," His dark eyes raked her form, slowly while a sly smile adorned his facial features. "You've grown into quite a…" He hesitated.

            Mia knew her best friend was ready to swing punches given the tight grip around her pompoms and the tight shoulders. "Kayura…" 

            "Quite a…" The big quarterback smirked. "Well, I suppose, you still have some growing to do," His dark eyes raked over Kayura's slender form again. Matching his smirk, Han's High football team started murmuring among themselves, a glance here and there at Elliot's cheerleading team.

            Melissa, who had heard Mia's soft-spoken warning, gripped Kayura's forearm tightly before the lithe cheerleader could launch herself at the quarterback. "Kayura!" She hissed softly. "Just ignore them,"

            Kayura stonily glared into the quarterback's eyes only to receive an arrogant wink and a blown kiss. "That --,"

            "Kayura," Mia, having been able to reach Kayura finally touched the girl's shoulders.

            Kayura nodded at the unspoken words. "I promise I won't do anything foolish…" _Yet._

~*~*~*~

            Mia sighed tiredly as she dragged her limp legs out of the rusty, red jeep and towards her small, dingy apartment building. She looked down at her wristwatch, sighing sadly as she realized that her mother probably wasn't going to be home. Her breathing grew shorter and harsher as she stumbled to the elevator, laying all her weight against the wall. Pulling out a tube, she inhaled and started her routine breathing exercise. The elevator jerked as it stopped on her floor. When the doors opened with a ding, Mia stared at the hallway with glassy eyes, slowly breathing in and out of her nose until the pain in her chest stopped. After the pain subsided a little, she crawled out into the hallway, the doors of the elevator almost closing on her frail body. Perspiration beaded across her forehead as she stood up, and with the help of the wall, slowly stumbled down the hall to the door of the apartment her and her mother shared.

            As a result of a severe accident during her younger years, Mia received acute asthma that acted up whenever she did something even slightly strenuous. Thankfully, they had applied for health insurance which helped pay for most of her medicine. 

            Jamming her key into the keyhole, Mia turned the knob and dropped to the floor, a limp arm shutting the door behind her still form. Clutching her chest, Mia began the breathing exercises she had been taught by her physician. If she hadn't had to restrain Kayura from scratching Kento Rei Faun's eyes out, she probably would've been in better shape. However, after the game ended, Han's High having won by twenty some odd points, the football team decided to taunt and mock the Elliot cheerleading team some more.

            Given the situation that they were in, Elliot girls responded immediately, the girls from their school joining the cheerleading team and the Han's High students came down from the bleachers to join the side of their football team.

            "We didn't ask to cheer for your god-forsaken team," Snapped Melissa who was at the end of her patience.

            "As if it were any sort of honor to be cheered by your pathetic cheerleading team. Please, I can't believe your headmistress even allowed the sport to exist in your school." Taunted one guy, wearing the black/maroon Han's High school uniform.

            "As if it were considered a sport," Kento smirked, crossing his big arms in front of him as he stared down Kayura.

            "And you consider mindless tackling to be a sport?" Helen, another girl on the team, raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't even require a brain…" Added as an afterthought, "Which is probably why you're all so into it,"

            "Implications of having no brain, isn't that bit grade one?"

            "Why give you something you can't handle?" Came the rhetorical remark from another Elliot girl.

            Ryo who was Kento's best friend, the captain of Han's High famed soccer team, snorted as he came to stand beside Kento, "And jumping around waving cheap pompoms requires neurons? I use more watching paint dry,"

            Mia rolled her eyes, finally joining in on the fight, "You give yourself little credit Mr. Sanada." Came the dry, sarcastic response. Grabbing Kayura's forearm, Mia snapped around, tugging the reluctant cheerleader with her, "Come now, let us not waste more time than we have to socializing with these bacterial infestations,"

            The football team bristled given the fact that the Elliot students ignored them completely after the titian-colored hair girl response. Having turned away first gave the Elliot girls an advantage in the verbal sparring. 

            Kento growled as a sharp retort formed upon his lips. A tug at his jersey stopped him however as he looked into one periwinkle-colored eye. The cold glare was that Kento needed to step down and concede defeat.

            The owner of the periwinkle-colored eye turned his face towards the fading backs of the Elliot girls, his cold eyes on one back specifically.

            As she groped the kitchen counter for a water glass, Mia could still feel those eyes burning through the layers of the Elliot fall uniform. She knew whom those eyes belonged to, the kendo prodigy of their county, Sage Date. Though his name had escaped her for a few moments during the fight when she first caught sight of him, Mia quickly remembered. At first, it was the unusual blue color of his friend's hair – what was his name? Rowan? Yes, it was Rowan – that caught her eye. A quick assessment of the blue-colored hair boy and the aristocratic features of Sage Date's gave her the feeling that if they didn't turn away now, this verbal sparring would turn into something much more, the Elliot girls probably on the losing side instead of the winning side. Given that it was Sage Date, if any major problems did arise that called adult attention, the teachers would probably favor Han's High. The Date family was also very much honored for their widespread family kendo dojos all over the county. Added to that, Sage's impeccable kendo skills kept their family in the limelight on television making the Date family almost as revered as – 

            Mia choked on the water, having swallowed too fast. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she took the few steps required to reach the fridge. Having found some leftovers, she thrust the plate into the microwave. She would ponder the rivalry between Han's High and Elliot no more; Mia's attention would now be focused upon the hours of homework ahead of her.


End file.
